Whether "Into the Woods" works as meaningful entertainment for adults rather than just a musical confection of assorted fairy tales for children is the question hovering over this clever and complex Broadway musical scripted by James Lapine, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. First staged and directed on Broadway by Lapine in 1987, "Into the Woods" scooped three Tony awards, before picking up another for best revival in 2002.
Now, in Japanese translation, this visual feast is being directed at the New National Theater by 46-year-old Amon Miyamoto, whose triumphant success with Sondheim's "Pacific Overtures" at the same venue in 2000 prompted Sondheim to say he hoped Miyamoto would direct all his works. That immense vote of confidence bears fruit in the current production -- and a greater challenge awaits Miyamoto in December, when he will become the first Japanese director of a Broadway musical, staging "Pacific Overtures" in New York with an all-American cast.
"Into the Woods" gets off to a beguiling start, as a voice gently announces, "Soon we will start the fairy story." We're introduced to a familiar lineup of Grimm Brothers innocents -- Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack of bean-stalk fame, and Rapunzel, all living in a picture-perfect little village in the woods. We soon realize, though, that they're all deeply troubled. Full of uncertainty about the meaning of life, each in turn goes into the deep, dark, mysterious woods in search of life-changing experiences.